Rockport, MA

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On September 16 we had another picture perfect day cruising from Newburyport to Rockport and then on to Salem. We decided to take the long way way going around the outside of Cape Ann so we could see Rockport.  Rockport is situated at the tip of Cape Ann and is surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean.  It is known for being a place where artists gravitate due to its amazing light, its location, and its rocky coastline and vistas.  The coast was lined with graceful New England homes and accented by a lighthouse acting as sentinel to the harbor. 

We entered the picturesque harbor and called the harbormaster for guidance on entering the harbor. 

We were delighted when she directed us to tie up at the red shed – an image that we are all familiar with as it graces many paintings of this coast.  It is officially called Motif Number 1.  The current building  is actually a replica of a former fishing shack and is well known to students of art and art history as the most often-painted building in America.  The original  was built in 1840, but was destroyed in the Blizzard of 1978.  From the early 1800’s, Rockport attracted both artists and fisherman and the barn became a favorite subject for them because of its composition and the great lighting in the area. 

We tied up at this distinctly non-floating dock.  We were at the very edge of the building and dock and had to climb the ladder to get out of the boat. By the time we returned a few hours later the tide had risen and we could practically step right onto Zendo.

There is a moving tribute on the red shed.  A collection of bouys lines one side of the building.  They commemorate the fisherman that lost their lives off the coast of this historic fishing village.

The light and rocky landscape are stunning and it is immediately clear why Rockport attracts so many artists .  The town is funky and artsy yet it still retains its authenticity with plenty of working fishing boats complete with lobster traps, burly fisherman, etc.

The town is adjacent to the docks.  It is filled with artist galleries and gift shops housed in in rustic and historic buildings and festooned with colorful flowers.

We wandered into several galleries and saw some pieces that we really liked (though we are not in an acquisition mode these days).  Many of the galleries were “one man shows” with the artist present so there was an intimacy that made the experience more special.

We also enjoyed the larger Rockport Art Association.  It was founded in 1921 and is the oldest and most active art organization in the country.  It had a large collection representing a wide array of local artists.  The gallery space was beautiful with great skylights and a wonderful feel to it.   The building was as stunning as the art within it.

 

The town did not have as many good restaurant choices so we had an OK lunch overlooking the bay before leaving for Salem where we would stay overnight.  We were really glad that we bypassed the inside route and made the decision to go further out into the Atlantic to experience Rockport  if even for just a few hours.

As we headed out of the harbor, we passed more fishing boats coming in and  two more lighthouses providing guidance to this “end of the world” rocky outcrop.  

We then headed to our next port, Salem - which deserves its own web page. 

Newburyport, MA

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We’ve been having an outstanding week of weather cruising the New England coast from Maine to Massachusetts.  On Tuesday, Sept. 15 we traveled from Kennebunkport, ME to Newburyport, MA.  The landscape has clearly changed from what we experienced in Maine.  Gone is the rugged coastline peppered with innumerable inlets.  In its place are wider expanses of coastline, fewer hills and more houses lining the shores (except for this outstanding lighthouse).

There are so many interesting places to  stop as we re-enter more populated areas of New England that it is hard to decide which beautiful, historic town to select.  We decided on Newburyport because one of the cruising books described it as the “shining diamond in the crown jewels of harbors that line the coast of Massachusetts”. 

We are trying to focus on anchorages and moorings as they are the lower cost options in the cruising world and we just plain enjoy them.  There are no safe anchorages in this area due to the raging currents that can run through the Merrimack River.  We learned that the town wharf in Newburyport had both moorings and docking facilities.  At first we were going to dock and then we opted for the mooring.   Lynn had difficulty grabbing the mooring ball and even Jonny couldn’t because the line was wrapped on it.  So we got another one that turned out to be in a better (more calm) location.  We  rowed our dinghy the short distance to the dinghy dock and went ashore to explore. 

Jonny was chagrined by the ridiculous and very unusual practice of this municipal dock to charge a mooring fee per calendar day instead of per overnight.  So our charge was $50 instead of the usual $25 mooring charge.  Of course, because it’s a mooring, there is no water or electricity included.  But, it’s obviously a lot less than paying for dockage. 

We walked around town visiting the historic customs house located on the waterfront where we met the director who had just been to the New London Customs House near where Jonny grew up.   She gave us lots of enthusiastic advice about which towns to visit in the area.

Because we didn’t bring our bikes ashore (harder to transport them in a dinghy), we did not see as much of the town as we usually like to.  But we did our best as we walked around the entire afternoon through the streets filled with well-preserved red brick buildings that house numerous and attractive shops and restaurants.   It is clearly a prosperous town catering to tourists but not at all tacky.

There was a funky warehouse type store near the waterfront that Lynn wanted to check out, but by the time we circled back to it, it was closed.  We don’t really have room on the boat for some of the “awesome stuff” that they had for sale!

We chose to eat dinner on board (trying to work through some of our provisions) and thought about taking the dinghy back into town to catch the new Woody Allen movie at a small movie theatre not far from the waterfront.  We haven’t been to the movies since before we left on this trip.  However, our onboard cocktail hour went long as we caught up with Stephanie and Jonny’s mom and dinner was delayed. So we skipped the movie and caught up on a couple of episodes of Mad Men – our guilty  pleasure these days!

Kennebunkport, ME

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There are so many interesting towns and anchorages in Maine that it’s been hard to decide which ones to visit and which we have to pass up for now.  We could easily spend a whole summer exploring the thousand miles of coastline in this state with all the islands, inlets, coves and rivers.  We decided to stop in Kennebunkport because Lynn had been there over 35 years ago and found it to be very appealing.  We have only four days to reach Boston so we can’t see everything we’d like to.  Another time!

The day was clear but the wind built up over the course of the morning and so did the seas.  We left Portland at 7:30  and toyed with the idea of going all the way to Portsmouth, N.H.  However the waves were getting bigger (3-4 feet) with more and more whitecaps and it’s just not fun when the seas kick up.  So after a little coercion, Jonny was convinced that stopping in Kennebunkport for the night was the best decision.

There is no place to moor or anchor in the area and when we called to make a reservation at a marina, we encountered the highest prices we’ve seen thus far on our trip.  The most highly recommended marina was $5 per foot which is a lot higher than what we’ll be paying in Boston!  We found one for $4 per foot and grabbed it as the third option had no space at all!

As soon as we made the turn into the Kennebunkport River, the seas calmed down and we quickly arrived at the Kennebunkport Marina. What an attractive setting!  Everything about this town is top notch and very charming.

After a quick wash down of the boat (to remove the salt), we went to explore the town on our bikes.  Of course, we had to go visit the Bush compound which we had passed by water.  It was clear which of the large and very New England like homes was the Bush residence because there were two white markers in the water that indicated that boaters were not to get any closer to the shore there!

In addition to the Bush homestead, we visited  the St. Ann’s Church nearby.  This beautiful Episcopal chapel was make of huge rocks in 1887 and was quite special.  From all accounts, the Bushes attend services there quite regularly. 

We rode our bikes through the residential area which had many beautiful homes on wooded lots.  Lynn really loves the old style New England homes  - they are classic and homey and lack the ostentatious nature of many of the newer larger homes in places like Florida.

Like the good cruisers we are, we had to stop for the obligatory ice cream cone in the village of Kennebunkport.  Lynn had one with rosemary, olive oil, and pepitas!  We walked around town checking out the shops,  picking up a few groceries and fish at the local fish market and snapping pictures of anything that looked interesting. 

Then we headed back to the boat to make dinner and have a quiet evening aboard.

Portland, ME

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We are loving our travels on the Maine coast.  It is a as beautiful as anyplace we have been on this trip!  On Friday, Sept. 10, we left our pristine Love Cove anchorage for the “big city lights” of Portland.  We traveled for about 5 hours on a partly cloudy and warm day with just a little fog and arrived in Portland at 1 p.m.  We wanted to arrive early because we had some boat issues that needed attention – the auto pilot was not working properly again and we seemed to have a minor water leak.

 

Prior to entering the marina, Zendo was inundated with an unbelievable number of flies – in the cabin, on the aft deck, fly bridge  - everywhere!  Jonny was swatting them like a madman, so much so that the flyswatter broke.  We had fly paper taped to the windows and we used duck tape to fix the fly swatter so we could continue the slaughter.

To top it off, as we entered the harbor, the alarm that indicates there is water in the fuel went off and wouldn’t stop.  Fortunately, Jonny’s very capable cousin, Robbie was still with us.  The two of them did a remarkable job of troubleshooting these problems with excellent telephone consultation from a couple of marine mechanics and they were actually able to fix all the issues without our having to spend a dime.  Remarkable!!

We stayed at the main marina there – DeMillo’s – which had both cruising vessels and lots of fishing boats and is right in the center of town.  We have never been to a marina that smelled as fishy as this one.  We usually don’t mind these smells since we are living on a boat these days. But this one was so strong that we turned on the air conditioning in the boat to freshen the air.  Fortunately, the fly problem had dissipated by then.

Despite the rough start, we found Portland to be a very cool little city (the biggest one in Maine).  The three of us walked into town in search of some liquid refreshment. 

Robbie is a Mainer and is very familiar with Portland. He had some brew pubs he wanted to take us to and we spent a very relaxing couple of hours sampling the local brews.  Later on, after showering, we went to a very good Asian restaurant in the “hipster” part of town and had a delicious dinner (no fish for a change)!

We planned to keep the boat here for a couple of days because Robbie and his wife Linda had invited us to stay at their home in West Paris.  We’ve been talking about visiting them for years so we could finally make good on our promise.  Linda picked us up on Friday and we spent time at the excellent Portland Museum of Art.  It had a very impressive display of Maine artists.  The Maine coast is extremely scenic with its rugged coastline, historic towns, and beautiful light.  It is no wonder that so many artists like Winslow Homer, Andrew, Jamie and N.C. Wyeth, Edward Hopper and Georgia O’Keefe  have chosen to live along and paint the Maine coast.  Afterwards, we had lunch at a very good Indian restaurant.  It feels good to be back in the land of ethnic cooking – not that we don’t love to eat fish!

Speaking of works of art, Robbie and Linda’s home is West Paris is just that.  It sits atop Pinnacle Mountain and encompasses 40 acres.  Robbie built the house to take advantage of the mountain top views and the best angles of the sun.  Not only did he design and build the house, but he designed and built most of the furniture in the house.  The bottom floor houses his workshop and the next three floors are where they live.  The house is colorful and filled with beams of sculpted tree limbs and unique pieces of furniture that he has made and collected over the years.  It is comfortable and warm with a very distinct sense of place.

In addition, they have huge vegetable gardens, an outdoor oven for cooking pizza, a greenhouse and more.  Robbie even built a dance studio on the third floor for their daughter Chloe who studied modern dance for many years! 

We had a wonderful time together hiking to the top of the mountain, cooking and eating (of course), reminiscing about family and generally enjoying each other’s company. 

We also got a very practical chore done by renting a carpet cleaner to clean all the rugs that we had brought along with with us from the boat to Robbie’s house for that very purpose.

On Sunday, Robbie and Linda drove us back to the boat and we had one last dinner together at a very good Italian restaurant in town.    We reviewed our itinerary for the next week so we would make it to Boston in time to attend the cousins party that Lynn’s cousin Tanya is organizing at her home in Boston on Sept. 19.  What fun!